1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to biological sample collectors, and more particularly to biological sample collectors used in verifying a biological decontamination protocol.
2. Related Art
After an attack involving a biological agent against a facility, authorities must act to decontaminate if the facility will be used by the public again. A variety of biological decontamination protocols may be used to clean a contaminated facility. Even though these protocols exist, the assessment of the effectiveness of a selected protocol may be time-consuming and difficult due in part to the range of weaponizable biological agents. Moreover, the correct tools and methods for identifying the presence of many biological agents are unknown, which also may slow the verification of the decontamination protocol. Furthermore, biological agents may not have a uniform susceptibility to a particular decontamination protocol.
One important aspect in verifying the efficiency of the decontamination protocol is the collection of biological samples from the environment. Samples must be collected from different surfaces within the environment and tested. Conventional devices and tools for collecting are insufficient and not suitable for all types of surfaces. For example, wipes are not suitable for collecting samples from carpet or fabric and are easily tearable. Further, the biological samples collected using these conventional devices and tools are not suited to be directly tested using a high-throughput automated process.